The EU General Court holds that the Commission was wrong to classify as State aid a progressive tax on the retail sector involving a high starting threshold (Polish tax on the retail sector)

EU General Court, Poland/Commission, Joined Cases T-836/16 and T-624/17, 21 May 2019

The EU’s General Court has rejected the EU Commission’s classification of a Polish tax on the retail sector as State aid: Poland v Commission (Joined Cases T-836/16 and T-624/17). [1] The fact that the tax was progressive in nature with a high threshold was not sufficient to meet the requirement that the measures enacted by Poland should be “selective”.
The judgment is an important one in the context of the application of State aid principles to taxation. In particular, concerns have been raised over the legality of some proposed digital services taxes on similar grounds. Whilst it is likely that the case will go on appeal to the EU’s Court of Justice for a final decision, the approach of the EU’s General Court will (if upheld) bolster the position of Member States

Quotation

Robert Hardy, Koen Platteau, Nick Skerrett, The EU General Court holds that the Commission was wrong to classify as State aid a progressive tax on the retail sector involving a high starting threshold (Polish tax on the retail sector),
21 May 2019,
e-Competitions May 2019, Art. N° 90709